SPORTS HALL OF FAMESASKATOON

Saskatoon Field House 2020 College Drive Saskatoon, Sask. S7N 2W4 (306) 664-6744

June 2009to August 2009

Newslettersaskatoonsportshalloffame.com

President’s message

Ed Bryant

President Ed Bryant

Past president Don CousinsSecretary Jacki NicholTreasurer Ken GunnJoe BloskiKelly BowersGerry HeskettWalter MudgeNoreen MurphyBob ReindlRalph SchoenfeldMark TennantPhyllis Wilson

Hall of Fameboard of directors

Touching baseLaurie Wachs, head coach of the Sas-

katoon Aqualenes and a builder inductee into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, coached Jessica Guenther to a silver-medal performance in the junior division at the Cana-dian synchronized swimming championships

in May in Quebec City. Guenther has been named to the national junior team for the Pan American cham-pionships Aug. 12 to 16 in Huntersville, N.C., and will continue her synchro swim-ming career at Stanford University in California . . . Greg Yuel (team inductee 1991, Hilltops football) and

his father Jim were the feature speakers at the third annual Gordon and Maureen Haddock Enterpreneurial speaker series at the University of Saskatchewan Edwards School of Business in March. As owners of PIC Investment Group Inc. of Saskatoon, the Yuels have been a part of Sas-katoon’s business community for years. Yuel was a receiver with the Hilltops for five seasons, from 1987 to 1991 . . . Rick Berezowski, who was the equipment manager on the 1985 Canadian champion Saskatoon Hilltops (team inductee, 1986), has been promoted to a CFL official for the 2009 season. Berezowski, a teacher in Rose-town, has been an official for 22 years, working everything from high school to university games. “I’m excited about making that step; I’m curious to see what it’s like up there,” Berezowski said in an interview with Kevin Mitchell, sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

Jacquie Lavallee (athlete inductee, 2008) was presented with a National Aboriginal Coach-ing Award at a ceremony in Winnipeg in May. Lavallee, a teacher at Oskayak High School in Saskatoon, is the head coach of the aboriginal girls basketball team through the Hoops and Dreams program at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge and an assistant coach with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Lavallee has also been named head coach of the national cadet team, for females under-16, that will represent

Canada at a world qualify-ing competition, Aug. 5 to 9 in Mexico City . . . The Saskatchewan Five-Pin Bowling Association has recognized Ned Powers (builder inductee 1997) with a lifetime achievement award. Powers has chroni-cled the bowling scene for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix

more than 50 years. Powers is currently writing a history of Elmwood Lodge in Saskatoon to commemorate its 40th anniversary. The book is due out in October. Elmwood Lodge provides residential support for people with intellectual disabilities. Powers has also authored four sports history books: Strikes ’n’ Spares, the history of bowling in Saskatchewan; Personal Best, the his-tory of track and field in Saskatchewan; Behind the Sports Headlines, a compilation of feature articles on people in sport; and the Hilltops, a Canadian Junior Football Legacy. His book on the Hilltops, released in 2007, was recognized by the International Sports Heritage Association

as best in class at an awards presentation in Macon, Ga.

Tom Graham, who coached the Saskatche-wan Huskies men’s volleyball team to the Cana-dian university title in 1988-89 and is inducted into the Hall of Fame in the team category, accompa-nied the Stefanie Lawton rink of Saskatoon to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Victoria this year. Graham, a sports psycholo-gist, helped Lawton and her rink of Marliese Kastner, Sherri Singler, Lana Vey and Teejay Surik recover from an 0-3 start. They went on to finish fourth . . . Willie Desjardins (team inductee 1999, Saskatchewan Huskies hockey) will be behind the bench with the Canadian team at the world junior hockey championship in late December and early January at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon. “(The national junior job) is not something a person would expect, but it’s something a guy should cherish,” said Desjardins, who has been elevated to head coach of the national team after serving as an assistant last

winter . . . Kerry Preete, who was a team-mate of Desjardins’ with the Huskies when they won the Canadian university champi-onship in 1982-83, now holds an executive position with Monsanto as vice-president of the international commercial division. Preete, a native of Melfort, is based at the agricultural corporation’s head office in St. Louis. . . . .

Doug Humbert (team inductee with the 1985, 1991 and 1996 Saskatoon Hilltops) retires this month from his career in educa-tion . . . Brian Guebert (team inductee with the 2001, 2002 and 2003

Saskatoon HIlltops) and former teammate Matt Yausie have introduced a six-a-side tackle league for Grade 7 and 8 players in five Canadian cities: Saskatoon, Regina, Winni-peg, Hamilton and Toronto. “We want to offer opportunities for coaches, officials and players to develop,” said Guebert, who played in the CFL the last two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

As president-elect this is my first message to you.

It is my pleasure, on behalf of the board of directors of the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame, to extend congratulations to those athletes, builders and team members who have been selected for induction this year at the banquet and induction ceremony, to be held Nov. 7 at TCU Place.

Those individuals being inducted represent nine different sports in which they achieved successes and accomplish-ments that not only allowed personal goals to be met, but also contributed greatly to the Saskatoon sporting commu-nity. These inductees are most deserving of the recognition that is to be bestowed on them.

We encourage all past induct-ees to honour the inductees for 2009 by attending the cer-emony as they are accepted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.

Good memories through sports.

—Photo by Richard Marjan of The StarPhoenix

Lee Morrison

Lee Morrison (team inductee 1987 and 1990 in curling) skipped her rink of lead Marg Griffiths, second Peggy Hergott and third Bernice Van Der Velden to the Canadian women’s masters championship for players age 60 and over in April.

Morrison won four Canadian women’s titles — in 1969 on a rink skipped by Joyce McKee and in 1971, 1972 and 1973 on the Vera Pezer rink.

She said after winning the Canadian masters this year it was her final event, retiring due to a bad knee. “It’s a great way to end a competitive career,” Morrison said.

Morrison’s Big finish

—Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame photo

1969 Canadian champsLee Morrison (left), Jennifer Falk,

Vera Pezer and Joyce McKee

—Photo by Bryan Schlosser of the Regina Leader-Post

Dan Farthing (athlete inductee 2004; team inductee 2000, Saskatchewan Huskies football) will be added to the Saskatchewan Roughriders Plaza of Honor in a ceremony scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Queens-bury Centre in Regina. Farthing, 39, played slotback for the Riders for 11 years. He is third on the club’s career list for receptions (384) and fifth in receiving yards (5,108). “I always thought of myself as being very, very fortunate and privileged to have an opportu-nity to play a sport for a living,” Farthing said in an interview with Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post. “It’s a wonderful thing and it is just that — a privilege.”

Laurie Wachs

Ned Powers

Hall of Fame sponsorsl Al Anderson’s Source for Sportsl Cherry Insurance Ltd.l Hunter’s Bowlingl Brian Mallard and Associatesl Saskatchewan Blue Crossl SaskTell Stantec Engineeringl Wright Brothers Western

PassingsDoug Knott1927-2009Hall of Fame builder inductee, soccer, 1992